Multiple phase motors are used in a variety of applications including disc drives, compact disc players, digital video disc players, scanners, printers, plotters, actuators used in the automotive and aviation industries, etc. Typically, multiple phase motors include a stationary portion or stator that produces a rotating magnetic field and a non-stationary portion or rotor in which torque is created by the rotating magnetic field. The torque causes the rotor to rotate which in turn causes a shaft connected to the rotor to rotate. In stepper motors, the shaft is rotated in steps or increments depending on the desired position of the output shaft. Although stators and rotors are commonly used to generate torque, a step loss condition may occur that decreases the accuracy of a motor. When a step loss condition occurs, the rotor stops or substantially stops rotating, which causes additional noise and extra wear on the mechanical components attached to the rotor. In addition, the lost steps may not be noticed which can create poor positioning accuracy.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a method for detecting and correcting for a step loss condition. It would be of further advantage for the method to be cost efficient to implement.